Area residents line up for food assistance from state after Irene (video)

JONATHAN BURTON

Published 12:00 am, Monday, September 26, 2011

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Jonathan Burton I The Middletown Press
Peter Bucknall, social services manager in Middletown,answers questions from the crowd on Monday.

Jonathan Burton I The Middletown Press
Peter Bucknall, social services manager in Middletown,answers questions from the crowd on Monday.

Area residents line up for food assistance from state after Irene (video)

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MIDDLETOWN -- Nearly 500 Connecticut residents from each end of the state lined up outside of Middletown's Department of Social Services building on Main Street Monday to receive free food assistance from the state for disaster-related expenses caused by tropical storm Irene.

Only low-income Connecticut residents, "who do not already receive assistance," will qualify for the extra assistance, said Peter Bucknall, the social services operations manager in Middletown. Anyone interested in receiving assistance have until Tuesday to apply for the special assistance under the federal Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as D-SNAP, according to Social Services Commissioner Roderick L. Bremby.

Applications are being taken at all 12 Department of Social Services offices in the state until 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Bucknall said.

"No new applications will be given after 3:30," he said.

People still in line at that time will be given rain check vouchers to return for application processing.

Bucknall braved the humid fall weather as he addressed the antsy crowd and their endless questions.

Most people in the crowd expressed their gratitude to the state for their efforts, but some were "annoyed," upset at the fact that there wasn't any publicity letting them know the state was offering the assistance, and angry with the disorganization.

"I'm thankful to the state for doing this," said Hamden resident Patricia Roberts, "but this is just outright ridiculous. No kind of organization at all!"

Roberts, like many others, arrived at the DSS building in Middletown at the early morning hours and was still in line at 2:30 p.m.

"I'm only number 130," she said. "I hope they call me today."

Shaniece Dawkins, of New Haven, said she stood in line in New Haven for "hours" last Friday, until they gave her a rain check to go to the Middletown office.

She said she's a little frustrated because she expected the state to be more organized.

"People are being sent everywhere," she said. "It's crazy."

Bremby urged patience.

"We urge the public to continue to be as patient as possible as our hard-working staff do their best to process a huge number of applications for this federal disaster assistance program," Bremby said in a statement Monday afternoon.

Bremby and Bucknall said everyone who meets the deadline by Tuesday afternoon will be included in the process.

The five-day application period opened last Wednesday. However, many people standing and sitting in line -- with sweat dripping from every pore in their bodies -- said they didn't find out about the assistance until Monday morning.

"My sister told me about this today," said Brenda Garrison, of Meriden. "Why was this so undercover? That's what I want to know."

Garrison said she wants to know if the state was trying to do something good for "us," why didn't she see anything about D-SNAP in the news?

"I don't get why we weren't notified about this," she said.

Garrison is in the 200s on the list, but she said she will sit in her blue chair and continue to "wait this one out."

According to her, a friend of hers received a $600 food stamp card and $250 deposited in her bank account.

"I'm not sure what I will get," she said. "She had 5 people in her family."

Though Garrison said she wasn't notified about the assistance, some say they received an email from the state telling them that they qualified, and others said they received a letter.

During the first three days of applications last week, Bremby said, DSS processed 3,701 applications for D-SNAP assistance. The number rose from 451 on Wednesday to 1,301 Thursday and to 1,949 Friday.

He said the agency has sent extra staff to the 12 field offices to help handle the applications. According to D-SNAP, applicants must also meet financial criteria to qualify. Take-home income and liquid assets for the period from Aug. 27 to Sept. 25 cannot exceed $2,186 for a single person; $2,847 for a household of two; $3,272 for a household of three; $3,859 for a household of four; $4,254 for a household of five; $4,753 for a household of six; $5,116 for a household of seven; and $5,479 for a household of eight.

Applicants should bring proof of identity, residency, income, assets and storm-related expenses for Aug. 27 through Sept. 25 with them to apply.